Hoopoe
Encyclopedia
The Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a colourful bird that is found across Afro-Eurasia
, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family
Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe
of Saint Helena
, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies
of the Hoopoe is sometimes elevated to a full species. Like the Latin name upupa, the English name is an onomatopoetic form which imitates the cry of the bird.
clade
, a group that also includes kingfisher
s, bee-eater
s, roller
s, and woodhoopoe
s (forming a clade with this one according to Hackett et al. (2008)). A close relationship between the Hoopoe and the woodhoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes. In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
, the Hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes
as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the woodhoopoes in the Upupiformes as well.
The fossil
record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary
. The fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil woodhoopoe
s dating back to the Miocene
and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisor
idae, dating from the Eocene
.
It is the only extant member of its family, although some treatments consider some of the subspecies as separate species. Several authors have separated the Madagascan subspecies (U. e. marginata) as a separate species, and also the resident African form U. e. africana. The morphological differences between the most commonly split subspecies, U. e. marginata, and the other subspecies are minor, and only U. e. marginata has distinctly different vocalisations. One accepted separate species, the Giant Hoopoe
, U. antaios, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the sixteenth century, presumably due to introduced species.
The genus Upupa was created by Linnaeus
in his Systema naturae in 1758. It then included three other species with long curved bills:
of Hoopoe are recognised by the Kristin 2001 (in the Handbook of the Birds of the World
), with these subspecies varying mostly in size and the depth of colour in the plumage
. Two further subspecies have been proposed, U. e. minor in South Africa
and U. e. orientalis in north western India.
, Asia
, and North Africa
, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Most European and north Asian birds migrate
to the tropics in winter. In contrast the African populations are sedentary year-round. The species has been a vagrant
in Alaska
; U. e. saturata was recorded as being seen there in 1975 in the Yukon Delta. Hoopoes have been known to breed north of their European range, and in southern England during warm, dry summers that provide plenty of grasshoppers and similar insects, although as of the early 1980s northern European populations were reported to be in the decline possibly due to changes in climate.
The Hoopoe has two basic requirements in its habitat; bare or lightly vegetated ground on which to forage and vertical surfaces with cavities (such as trees, cliffs or even walls, nestboxes, haystacks, and abandoned burrows) in which to nest. These requirements can be provided in a wide range of ecosystems and as a consequence they inhabit a wide range of habitats from heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as glades inside forests. The Madagascar subspecies also makes use of more dense primary forest. The modification of natural habitats by humans for various agricultural purposes has led to them becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, although they are less common and declining in intensively farmed areas. Hunting is of concern in southern Europe and Asia.
Hoopoes make seasonal movements in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats. Birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas
and was recorded at about 6400 m by the first Mount Everest Expedition.
_at_hodal_i_img_9225.jpg)
The Hoopoe is a medium sized bird, 25–32 cm (9.8-12.6 in) long, with a 44–48 cm (17.3–19 in) wingspan weighing 46-89 g
(1.6-3.1 oz
). The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill
that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature
of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory
subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight
, which is like that of a giant butterfly
, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.
The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names. In the Himalayas, the calls can be confused with that of the Himalayan Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) although the cuckoo typically produces four notes. Other calls include rasping croaks and hisses. A wheezy note is produced by females during courtship feeding by the male.
s are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. In addition to feeding in soil Hoopoes will feed on insects on the surface, as well as probing into piles of leaves and even using the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. Common diet items include cricket
s, locust
s, beetle
s, earwig
s, cicada
s, ant lions, bug
s and ant
s. These can range from 10 to 150 mm in length, with the preferred size of prey being around 20–30 mm. Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone in order to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.
, although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season. They are also territorial
, with the male calling frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal. Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights. The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, with a narrow entrance; it may be unlined or various scraps may be collected. The female alone is responsible for incubating
the eggs. Clutch size
varies with location, with northern hemisphere birds laying more eggs than those in the southern hemisphere and birds in higher latitudes having larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central and northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is around 12, whereas it is between four in the tropics and seven in the subtropics. The eggs are round and milky blue on laying but quickly discolour in the increasingly dirty nest. They weigh 4.5 grams. A replacement clutch is possible.
The Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predators defences in the nest. The uropygial gland
of the incubating and brooding female is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage. The secretion, which smells like rotting meat, is thought to help deter predators, as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent. The secretions stop soon before the young leave the nest. In addition to this secretion nestlings are able to direct streams of faeces at nest intruders from the age of six days, and will also hiss at intruders in a snake like fashion. The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.
The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days. During incubation the female is fed by the male. The incubation period begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers
, by around day three to five feather quills emerge which become adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 to 14 days. The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food. The young fledge
in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week.
Hoopoes are distinctive birds and have made a cultural impact over much of their range. They were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt
. So they were "depicted on the walls of tombs and temples"; they achieved a similar standing in Minoan Crete.
In the Bible, Leviticus 11:13-19, hoopoes were listed among the animals that are detestable and should not be eaten. They are also listed in Deuteronomy
(14:18) as not kosher.
Hoopoes also appear in the Quran in Surah Al-Naml 27:20-22 in the following context "And he [Solomon] sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? (20) I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. (21) But he [the Hoopoe] was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings."
Hoopoes were seen as a symbol of virtue in Persia. A hoopoe was the leader of the birds in the Persian book of poems The Conference of the Birds
.
They were thought of as thieves across much of Europe and harbingers of war in Scandinavia
. Also, in Estonia
n tradition the Hoopoes are strongly connected with death and the underworld
, their song is seen as a forebode of death for many a people or cattle.
The Hoopoe is the king of the birds in the Ancient Greek
comedy The Birds
by Aristophanes
.
In Ovid
's Metamorphoses, book 6, King Tereus
of Thrace
, married to Procne, rapes his wife's sister, Philomela and cuts out her tongue. In revenge, Procne kills their son Itys and serves him as a stew to his father. When Tereus sees the boy's head, which is served on a platter, he grabs a sword but just as he attempts to kill the sisters, they are turned into birds—Philomela into a nightingale
and Procne into a swallow
. Tereus himself is turned into an epops (6.674), translated as lapwing
by Dryden and lappewincke (lappewinge) by John Gower
in his Confessio Amantis
, or hoopoe, in A.S. Kline's translation. The bird's crest indicates his royal status and his long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature. English translators and poets probably had the Northern lapwing
in mind, considering its crest.
The Hoopoe was chosen as the national bird of Israel
in May 2008 in conjunction with the country's 60th anniversary, following a national survey of 155,000 citizens, outpolling the White-spectacled Bulbul
. It is also the state-bird of Punjab
province of India
. The Hoopoe appears on the Logo of the University of Johannesburg
, and is the official mascott of the University's sports. The municipality of Armstedt
, Germany has a hoopoe in its coat of arms.
Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia or less commonly Afrasia or Eurafrasia is the term used to describe the largest landmass on earth. It may be defined as a supercontinent, consisting of Africa and Eurasia...
, notable for its distinctive 'crown' of feathers. It is the only extant species in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Upupidae. One insular species, the Giant Hoopoe
Giant Hoopoe
The Giant Hoopoe , also known as Saint Helena Giant Hoopoe or Saint Helena Hoopoe, is an extinct species of Hoopoe , known exclusively from an incomplete subfossil skeleton....
of Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
, is extinct, and the Madagascar subspecies
Madagascar Hoopoe
The Madagascar Hoopoe is a subspecies of Hoopoe in the Upupidae family. It is often considered to be treated as a separate species to the Hoopoe due to its vocalisations and small differences in plumage, but is otherwise similar to the rest of the species.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural...
of the Hoopoe is sometimes elevated to a full species. Like the Latin name upupa, the English name is an onomatopoetic form which imitates the cry of the bird.
Taxonomy
The Hoopoe is classified in the CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
, a group that also includes kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s, bee-eater
Bee-eater
The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...
s, roller
Roller
The rollers are an Old World family, Coraciidae, of near passerine birds. The group gets its name from the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearance of kingfishers and...
s, and woodhoopoe
Woodhoopoe
The Wood hoopoes and scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows that the family once had a larger distribution...
s (forming a clade with this one according to Hackett et al. (2008)). A close relationship between the Hoopoe and the woodhoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes. In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy
The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. It is based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s....
, the Hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the woodhoopoes in the Upupiformes as well.
The fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
. The fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil woodhoopoe
Woodhoopoe
The Wood hoopoes and scimitarbills are a small African family, Phoeniculidae, of near passerine birds. They live south of the Sahara Desert and are not migratory. While the family is now restricted to sub-Saharan Africa, fossil evidence shows that the family once had a larger distribution...
s dating back to the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisor
Messelirrisor
The extinct Messelirrisoridae are a family of Coraciiformes. Tiny hoopoe-like birds, they were among the predominant small forest birds of Central Europe during the Middle Eocene ....
idae, dating from the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
.
It is the only extant member of its family, although some treatments consider some of the subspecies as separate species. Several authors have separated the Madagascan subspecies (U. e. marginata) as a separate species, and also the resident African form U. e. africana. The morphological differences between the most commonly split subspecies, U. e. marginata, and the other subspecies are minor, and only U. e. marginata has distinctly different vocalisations. One accepted separate species, the Giant Hoopoe
Giant Hoopoe
The Giant Hoopoe , also known as Saint Helena Giant Hoopoe or Saint Helena Hoopoe, is an extinct species of Hoopoe , known exclusively from an incomplete subfossil skeleton....
, U. antaios, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the sixteenth century, presumably due to introduced species.
The genus Upupa was created by Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in his Systema naturae in 1758. It then included three other species with long curved bills:
- U. eremita (now Geronticus eremita), the Northern Bald IbisNorthern Bald IbisThe Northern Bald Ibis, Hermit Ibis, or Waldrapp is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This 70–80 cm glossy black ibis, which, unlike other members of the ibis family, is non-wading, has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long,...
- U. pyrrhocorax (now Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), the Red-billed ChoughRed-billed ChoughThe Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...
- U. paradisea
Subspecies
Nine subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of Hoopoe are recognised by the Kristin 2001 (in the Handbook of the Birds of the World
Handbook of the Birds of the World
The Handbook of the Birds of the World is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series is edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A Christie.So far, 15...
), with these subspecies varying mostly in size and the depth of colour in the plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
. Two further subspecies have been proposed, U. e. minor in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and U. e. orientalis in north western India.
| Subspecies | Breeding range | Distinctive features |
|---|---|---|
| U. e. epops Linnaeus, 1758 |
NW Africa, Canary Islands Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union... , and from Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... through to south central Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... , north west China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... and south to north west India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... . |
Nominate |
| U. e. major C.L. Brehm, 1855 |
North east Africa | Larger than nominate, longer billed, narrower tailband, greyer upperparts |
| U. e. senegalensis Swainson, 1913 |
Senegal Senegal Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north... to Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2... |
Smaller than nominate, shorter winged |
| U. e. waibeli Reichenow, 1913 |
Cameroon Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the... through to north Kenya Kenya Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east... |
As U. e. senegalensis but darker plumage and more white on wings |
| U. e. africana Bechstein Johann Matthäus Bechstein Johann Matthäus Bechstein was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist and entomologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds .-Biography:Bechstein was born in Waltershausen in the district of Gotha in Thuringia... , 1811 |
Central Africa to South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
Much more rufous than nominate |
| U. e. marginata Madagascar Hoopoe The Madagascar Hoopoe is a subspecies of Hoopoe in the Upupidae family. It is often considered to be treated as a separate species to the Hoopoe due to its vocalisations and small differences in plumage, but is otherwise similar to the rest of the species.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural... Cabanis Jean Cabanis Jean Louis Cabanis was a German ornithologist.Cabanis was born in Berlin. He studied at the University of Berlin from 1835 to 1839, and then travelled to North America, returning in 1841 with a large natural history collection. He was assistant and later director of the Berlin University Museum,... & Heine, 1860 |
Madagascar Madagascar The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... |
Larger, much more pale than U. e. africana |
| U. e. saturata Lönnberg, 1909 |
Japan, Siberia Siberia Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th... to Tibet Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people... and south China |
As nominate, greyer mantle, less pink below |
| U. e. ceylonensis Reichenbach, 1853 |
Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... , India and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... |
Smaller than nominate, more rufous overall, no white in crest |
| U. e. longirostris Jerdon Thomas C. Jerdon Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India... , 1862 |
South east Asia | Larger than nominate, pale |
Distribution, habitat and migration
The Hoopoe is widespread in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and North Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Most European and north Asian birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to the tropics in winter. In contrast the African populations are sedentary year-round. The species has been a vagrant
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
; U. e. saturata was recorded as being seen there in 1975 in the Yukon Delta. Hoopoes have been known to breed north of their European range, and in southern England during warm, dry summers that provide plenty of grasshoppers and similar insects, although as of the early 1980s northern European populations were reported to be in the decline possibly due to changes in climate.
The Hoopoe has two basic requirements in its habitat; bare or lightly vegetated ground on which to forage and vertical surfaces with cavities (such as trees, cliffs or even walls, nestboxes, haystacks, and abandoned burrows) in which to nest. These requirements can be provided in a wide range of ecosystems and as a consequence they inhabit a wide range of habitats from heathland, wooded steppes, savannas and grasslands, as well as glades inside forests. The Madagascar subspecies also makes use of more dense primary forest. The modification of natural habitats by humans for various agricultural purposes has led to them becoming common in olive groves, orchards, vineyards, parkland and farmland, although they are less common and declining in intensively farmed areas. Hunting is of concern in southern Europe and Asia.
Hoopoes make seasonal movements in response to rain in some regions such as in Ceylon and in the Western Ghats. Birds have been seen at high altitudes during migration across the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
and was recorded at about 6400 m by the first Mount Everest Expedition.
Description
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(1.6-3.1 oz
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
). The species is highly distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil. The hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight; these are larger in the northern migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
subspecies. The Hoopoe has a characteristic undulating flight
Bird flight
Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species. Flight assists birds while feeding, breeding and avoiding predators....
, which is like that of a giant butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, caused by the wings half closing at the end of each beat or short sequence of beats.
The song is a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop", which gives rise to its English and scientific names. In the Himalayas, the calls can be confused with that of the Himalayan Cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) although the cuckoo typically produces four notes. Other calls include rasping croaks and hisses. A wheezy note is produced by females during courtship feeding by the male.
Behaviour
In what was long thought to be a defensive posture, Hoopoes sunbathe by spreading out their wings and tail low against the ground and tilting their head up; they often fold their wings and preen halfway through. The Hoopoe also enjoys taking dust and sand baths.Diet and feeding
The diet of the Hoopoe is mostly composed of insects, although small reptiles and frogs as well as some plant matter such as seeds and berries are sometimes taken as well. It is a solitary forager which typically feeds on the ground. More rarely they will feed in the air, in pursuit of numerous swarming insects, where their strong and rounded wings make them fast and manoeuvrable. More commonly their foraging style is to stride on relatively open ground and periodically pause to probe the ground with the full length of their bill. Insect larvae, pupae and mole cricketMole cricket
The mole crickets compose family Gryllotalpidae, of thick-bodied insects about long, with large beady eyes and shovel-like forelimbs highly developed for burrowing and swimming. They can also fly: the adult mole cricket may fly as far as during mating season, is active most of the year, and...
s are detected by the bill and either extracted or dug out with the strong feet. In addition to feeding in soil Hoopoes will feed on insects on the surface, as well as probing into piles of leaves and even using the bill to lever large stones and flake off bark. Common diet items include cricket
Orthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
s, locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
s, beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, earwig
Earwig
Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With 1,800 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders...
s, cicada
Cicada
A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha , in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many of them remain unclassified...
s, ant lions, bug
Hemiptera
Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...
s and ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s. These can range from 10 to 150 mm in length, with the preferred size of prey being around 20–30 mm. Larger prey items are beaten against the ground or a preferred stone in order to kill them and remove indigestible body parts such as wings and legs.
Breeding
The Hoopoe is monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, although the pair bond apparently only lasts for a single season. They are also territorial
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, with the male calling frequently to advertise his ownership of the territory. Chases and fights between rival males (and sometimes females) are common and can be brutal. Birds will try to stab rivals with their bills, and individuals are occasionally blinded in fights. The nest is in a hole in a tree or wall, with a narrow entrance; it may be unlined or various scraps may be collected. The female alone is responsible for incubating
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
the eggs. Clutch size
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
varies with location, with northern hemisphere birds laying more eggs than those in the southern hemisphere and birds in higher latitudes having larger clutches than those closer to the equator. In central and northern Europe and Asia the clutch size is around 12, whereas it is between four in the tropics and seven in the subtropics. The eggs are round and milky blue on laying but quickly discolour in the increasingly dirty nest. They weigh 4.5 grams. A replacement clutch is possible.
The Hoopoes have well-developed anti-predators defences in the nest. The uropygial gland
Uropygial gland
The uropygial gland, informally known as the preen gland, is a gland found in the large majority of birds that secretes an oil that birds use for preening. The chief compounds of preen oil are diester waxes called uropygiols....
of the incubating and brooding female is quickly modified to produce a foul-smelling liquid, and the glands of nestlings do so as well. These secretions are rubbed into the plumage. The secretion, which smells like rotting meat, is thought to help deter predators, as well as deter parasites and possibly act as an antibacterial agent. The secretions stop soon before the young leave the nest. In addition to this secretion nestlings are able to direct streams of faeces at nest intruders from the age of six days, and will also hiss at intruders in a snake like fashion. The young also strike with their bill or with one wing.
The incubation period for the species is between 15 and 18 days. During incubation the female is fed by the male. The incubation period begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the chicks are born asynchronously. The chicks hatch with a covering of downy feathers
Down feather
The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...
, by around day three to five feather quills emerge which become adult feathers. The chicks are brooded by the female for between 9 to 14 days. The female later joins the male in the task of bringing food. The young fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
in 26 to 29 days and remain with the parents for about a week.
Relationship with humans
The diet of the Hoopoe includes many species considered to be pests by humans; for example the pupae of the processionary moth, a damaging forest pest. For this reason the species is afforded protection under the law in many countries.Hoopoes are distinctive birds and have made a cultural impact over much of their range. They were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. So they were "depicted on the walls of tombs and temples"; they achieved a similar standing in Minoan Crete.
In the Bible, Leviticus 11:13-19, hoopoes were listed among the animals that are detestable and should not be eaten. They are also listed in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
(14:18) as not kosher.
Hoopoes also appear in the Quran in Surah Al-Naml 27:20-22 in the following context "And he [Solomon] sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? (20) I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. (21) But he [the Hoopoe] was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings."
Hoopoes were seen as a symbol of virtue in Persia. A hoopoe was the leader of the birds in the Persian book of poems The Conference of the Birds
The Conference of the Birds
The Conference of the Birds is a book of poems in Persian by Farid ud-Din Attar of approximately 4500 lines. The poem's plot is as follows: the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their king, as they have none. The hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the...
.
They were thought of as thieves across much of Europe and harbingers of war in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. Also, in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n tradition the Hoopoes are strongly connected with death and the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
, their song is seen as a forebode of death for many a people or cattle.
The Hoopoe is the king of the birds in the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
comedy The Birds
The Birds (play)
The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs...
by Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
.
In Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses, book 6, King Tereus
Tereus
In Greek mythology, Tereus was a Thracian king, the son of Ares and husband of Procne. Procne and Tereus had a son, Itys.Tereus desired his wife's sister, Philomela. He forced himself upon her, then cut her tongue out and held her captive so she could never tell anyone. He told his wife that her...
of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, married to Procne, rapes his wife's sister, Philomela and cuts out her tongue. In revenge, Procne kills their son Itys and serves him as a stew to his father. When Tereus sees the boy's head, which is served on a platter, he grabs a sword but just as he attempts to kill the sisters, they are turned into birds—Philomela into a nightingale
Nightingale
The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
and Procne into a swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
. Tereus himself is turned into an epops (6.674), translated as lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...
by Dryden and lappewincke (lappewinge) by John Gower
John Gower
John Gower was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works, the Mirroir de l'Omme, Vox Clamantis, and Confessio Amantis, three long poems written in French, Latin, and English respectively, which...
in his Confessio Amantis
Confessio Amantis
Confessio Amantis is a 33,000-line Middle English poem by John Gower, which uses the confession made by an ageing lover to the chaplain of Venus as a frame story for a collection of shorter narrative poems. According to its prologue, it was composed at the request of Richard II...
, or hoopoe, in A.S. Kline's translation. The bird's crest indicates his royal status and his long, sharp beak is a symbol of his violent nature. English translators and poets probably had the Northern lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
in mind, considering its crest.
The Hoopoe was chosen as the national bird of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in May 2008 in conjunction with the country's 60th anniversary, following a national survey of 155,000 citizens, outpolling the White-spectacled Bulbul
White-spectacled Bulbul
The White-spectacled Bulbul also known as the Yellow-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus xanthopygos, is a small bird, a bit bigger than a sparrow. It is 19–21 centimeters in length, and its wingspan is 20–25 centimeters. A stable bird that lives in fruit plantations, gardens, cities etc. It is the most...
. It is also the state-bird of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
province of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Hoopoe appears on the Logo of the University of Johannesburg
University of Johannesburg
The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Technikon Witwatersrand and the Rand Afrikaans University . Prior to the merger, the Daveyton and Soweto campuses of the former Vista University had been incorporated into RAU...
, and is the official mascott of the University's sports. The municipality of Armstedt
Armstedt
Armstedt is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
, Germany has a hoopoe in its coat of arms.
External links
- Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
- Hoopoe videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection